Class and Plans Underway for Upcoming Political Conventions

Quick Facts

Thanks to an ambitious program specifically designed to coincide with the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte N.C., Winthrop students will be able to savor firsthand the unique insights of some of the most important participants or observers of the political scene. Joining the Winthrop students for pre-convention activities will be college students and faculty members from 10 other higher education institutions across South Carolina - Lander, Newberry, Wofford, Coastal Carolina, Columbia College, York Technical College, S.C. State, Greenville Technical College, Clinton Junior College and University of South Carolina-Lancaster.

These Palmetto State undergrads also will get to meet the manager of political coverage for CNN—Steve Brusk, talk with a top political journalist from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Aaron Gould Sheinin, and question one of the top Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives, Jim Clyburn.

Thanks to an ambitious program specifically designed to coincide with the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte N.C., Winthrop students will be able to savor firsthand the unique insights of some of the most important participants or observers of the political scene.

Joining the Winthrop students for pre-convention activities will be college students and faculty members from 10 other higher education institutions across South Carolina - Lander, Newberry, Wofford, Coastal Carolina, Columbia College, York Technical College, S.C. State, Greenville Technical College, Clinton Junior College and University of South Carolina-Lancaster. The group will descend en masse on Charlotte Sept. 1, 2 and 3. Their base of operation will be First United Methodist Church, just blocks from the convention site.

The college students attending weekend activities represent a broad mix of S.C. colleges—public, private, church-affiliated, historically black and a woman’s institution.

“The 2012 Presidential election year has provided students with fantastic opportunities to study and participate in the American democratic process,” said Kedrowski. “We have seized every opportunity to provide our students the chance to see the democratic process firsthand.”

Earlier this year, Winthrop played host to a slew of Republican presidential hopefuls, including GOP nominee Mitt Romney, as well as the national media in the run up to the crucial South Carolina primary on Jan. 21. Data provided by the Winthrop Polls proved indispensable to observers of the political scene, as they endeavored to track the latest political sentiments of those in the Palmetto State.

Then the Winthrop students, attending as a political science class, “Presidential Nominating Conventions,” will continue enjoying the myriad of events offered in downtown Charlotte during convention week, and culminating in the president’s acceptance address in Bank of America Stadium on Sept. 6. The political conventions class got underway online on Aug. 1.

"Watch parties" also are planned on campus for the Republican and Democratic national conventions. The parties – which are open to the public – will take place in the Richardson Ballroom in the DiGiorgio Campus Center on Wednesday, Aug. 29 and Thursday, Aug. 30 for the GOP political convention in Tampa, Fla., and on Sept. 5 to view the Democratic convention in Charlotte.

The August 29 and September 5 parties will feature foods representing the nominees (home states, favorite foods), while students eating in the Winthrop dining hall can "vote with your plate" -- Obama and Romney menus, or mix and match selections for Independents.